Numerous laundry treatment compositions are available for use by consumers in the washing of clothing and other fabrics in traditional washing machines. However, consumers still struggle to remove some residues and/or stains from fabric items. Some of the more problematic consumer fabric cleaning problems originate from complex mixtures of accumulated body soils (especially in the underarm and collar areas) with detergent, fabric softener, and hard water residues. Such residues can additionally include other soil, detergent, fabric softener and/or hard water components that were redeposited during previous washes. The build up of these residues over time leads to a loss of whiteness and/or brightness and may create a dingy appearance to fabric.
Detergent compositions, particularly liquid laundry detergents, are formulated to contain one or more surfactants (often anionic surfactants), electrolyte materials, and other adjuvants dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous medium. Traditionally they have been formulated to a composition pH of above 7. The main reason for the popularity of a basic pH is to ensure that the surfactant systems, enzymes or other organic solvents remain solubilized and disperse in the wash water and that greasy or oily stains removed from soiled clothing are also dispersed in the wash water.
A number of acidic laundry detergent formulations have been disclosed in the past to consumers which teach the benefits of improved removal of residues from fabrics and associated improvement in whiteness, improved bleachable stain removal and improved anti-bacterial performance. However, those products often give uncontrolled sudsing and do not provide adequate cleaning form grease stains.
Therefore, a need still exists for laundry detergent formulation having a high water content, that is still capable of reducing or eliminating the residues on fabrics associated with mixtures of accumulated body soils, detergent, fabric softener and/or hard water that is traditionally associated with low pH detergents, but also delivering improved suds control and grease stain improvement.